Fate Rise Up
by Antonio92
Summary: Only a few years after the Holy Grail War, it is all about to happen again, but this time with a twist: the most powerful Servants, the most powerful Masters... Will Shirou Emiya be able to survive in a conflict of this magnitude? And more importantly, can his ideals survive it?
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer**__:__** I do NOT own Fate/Stay Night. I do NOT own Emiya Shirou. I wish I owned Saber, but I don't. All I own are the ideas that led to this fanfic, and the names of the Masters (but if you share a name with one of them, by all means let me know, cause that would be awesome!**_

* * *

_Drip. Drip. Drip._ Looking up, Valentino frowned as he saw the water dripping from the corner of the room. True, he had only recently found out what would be happening, and this was the best place he could get in such a short time-frame, but still… The apartment he was in was a disaster, no matter how one looked at it. The walls were mildewed, badly covered over by peeling wallpaper, the floor tiles were cracked and stained with engrained dirt, and to top it off, the roof was starting to leak now. To top it off, there was only one bed, which meant that Sigrun had to stand watch over him while he slept. Not that he cared, after all Servants didn't need to sleep, but his surroundings were making him irritated, and the Italian didn't like that.

"Sigrun, _vieni qui,"_ **[[come here]]** he called out, and a young woman, appearing to be in her mid-twenties, with pale skin, long blonde hair and an athletic build appeared, clad in what appeared to be an armored dress made of chain-mail, resting a battleaxe casually against her shoulder.

"Master_?_" she replied, "is something wrong?" Valentino gestured around at the walls. "_Questo posto non va_," **[[This place is wrong]]** he responded irritably, but knew that the Valkyrie was asking an altogether different question, and that he needed to answer it. "_Quando incominciera_?" **[[When does it begin?]]** And at that question, Sigrun smiled viciously.

"Tonight."

Neither Master nor Servant saw the figure hidden in the shadows – no, it would be more accurate to say he was hidden _as_ the shadows – as it carefully watched the pair, judging the feeling in its heart, and considering the orders from its Master. _Yes, it begins tonight… And for this careless Master, tonight it will end._

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

_**I'm back, trying to write another fanfic! So I've been playing F/SN, fell in love with the Shirou/Saber pairing, and decided to try my hand at a sequel. I have not yet played any route other than Fate (I haven't even completed Fate 100% at the time of writing this, but I will soon!), but I'm working with my own version of canon that I think sorta combines the three routes (from what I've read on the FSN wiki, that is) while focusing mostly on the Fate route.**_

_**I will most likely ignore any people who flame me for using a plot idea that is almost 100% overused, but if anyone who reads this has comments, suggestions, or anything that they think might improve the story, by all means post a review, PM me or figure out some way to let me know!**_

_**Also, this has been posted mostly to get my brain started on the story, I intend to complete the Fate route at least, and probably the UBW and Heaven's Feel routes too before I get too far into this fanfic, so the plot may change slightly, but all the major details should remain as they are.**_


	2. Chapter 1: A Familiar Servant

_**Disclaimer: I still own pretty much nothing, and I honestly can't be screwed to do many more of these disclaimers, anyone who's read this from the beginning knows that I don't own FSN and if you haven't read it from the beginning, go back and read the prologue, it's only 500 words! Of course, if I somehow inherit all of Fate/Stay Night I will certainly be letting all of you know.**_

* * *

Shirou Emiya only glanced at the clock, before turning his eyes back to the book he was reading. With Rin a member of the Association, she had forced him to register, and he had to admit, it had gone better than he had expected it to. Of course, perhaps it was that he had effectively won the Fifth Holy Grail War, but the Association had seemed more than happy to accept him as an honorary member, and not interfere with his life as long as he promised to follow their rules. And with the honorary membership, there had come a long list of books to read from Rin, everything from basic magical theory to the most advanced concepts of Projection… And while Shirou felt that he now had a good grasp on his Unlimited Blade Works, Rin still kept sending him _homework_, even from overseas.

"Stubborn girl," he smiled to himself, before turning the page and sighing. While Rin was a good friend – and he was sure she wanted to be more – he wasn't ready or willing to commit to someone in that way again, not after… With a start, Shirou realized that his hands were clenched, and he had almost ripped a page out of the book. After the Holy Grail War had ended with the destruction of the Grail and Saber's return to her time, everything had felt a little off. Not only like something was missing – although anyone who knew Shirou well could see that a chunk of his heart _was_ – but more like something was unfinished. The calm before a storm, really. He had mentioned it to Rin once, but she had nodded with a small laugh.

"It's only natural," she had said, "for you, who have become so used to the Holy Grail War even after only two weeks, to think that something should happen now. But there's no need to worry, it only happens once every fifty or so years. Last time was just a mistake, that's all, there's no need to worry about it now." And with that, she had hugged him and left. Still, Shirou could _feel_ something happening, as if the land was preparing itself for a disaster. He thought back to the fire that had marked the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War, and shuddered. _I don't want that to happen again,_ he thought firmly, but… The feeling wasn't like that. It was strange…

Absorbed in his reflections, the magus didn't notice when, behind him, lines of silver light formed a seal on the floor. He didn't notice when they began to shine with bright moonlight, and he only turned around when he started to hear a faint hum.

"Wha-" BOOM!

With a flash of light, Shiro was tossed back against the wall, his head hitting hard against the side of the building and starting to throb. Out of the darkness, he could see a slender figure, but he couldn't make anything out very well, everything was dark… He must have knocked over the lamp when he was thrown back. But the sound that came next made Shirou realize that he had been in this position once before, and had never thought it would happen again…

"I ask of you, are you my- Shirou!?"

His throbbing head now supplemented by a searing pain in his hand, Shirou held up the appendage to block out the silver light, to see the apparition more clearly. In the light that he was letting into his eyes, the Magus could tell that he was not mistaken. There, standing in front of him, was a beautiful girl, looking only slightly younger than him, with perfect blonde hair, luminous emerald eyes, shrouded in an old-fashioned dress of deepest blue, with heavy silver armor encasing it. And there, on the back of his hand, the mark he could never forget – the Command Spell of the Holy Grail War – was glowing ominously.

"Saber? H-How is this even possible? At the end of the last Grail War, you left…"

The sword-maiden nodded, her face lighting up in a small smile. "Yes, Shirou, you saw me leave as I destroyed the Holy Grail, but there is a saying. 'He who can destroy something has control over it.' When I destroyed the Grail in the last war, the World decided that I had obtained it while I was alive. And so, I became a true Heroic Spirit. You were right in that too: the world would not have allowed me to unmake Arturia, King of Knights, I understand that now. I could have tried, could have wished upon the Grail, but nothing would change: Arturia would still be King, Mordred would still kill her and die on the field of Camlann… And so I became a Heroic Spirit, with all the memories of my life. All my lives."

"Then… It's really you? You remember me, you remember what happened to us during the last War?"

Saber nodded, a light blush on her face. "I remember everything, Shirou." His face heated up as he, too, recalled those memories, but before either of them could get too lost in thought, Shirou pushed that away – he would have time to take Saber out later.

"I'm glad that you're with me, Saber, but… Even as a Heroic Spirit, why are you here? There can't be a Holy Grail War right now!"

Saber frowned, before looking at Shirou. "Do you mean to say that you cannot feel it? Or perhaps it is only Servants such as myself that can perceive each other like this… Come to think of it, this has never happened before in a Grail War that I know of."

"Saber, do you mean to say that..?"

The emerald-eyed girl nodded. "I can tell that there are six other Servants active on Earth. Including me, that makes seven. This is a Holy Grail War, Shirou… And it has begun tonight. But more importantly, this Grail War is different. I do not know how I know, but… This Grail is a class higher than any before. It may even be the true Grail from the legends, it may be something else. I do not know any more than that, but… I have a feeling. A feeling that in this Grail War, you cannot take it as easily as you did before. The other Servants, too… Each of us Servants summoned are at the top of our class. Myself, Archer, Lancer, Berserker, Caster, Rider, Assassin… We were chosen for this Grail War because we are the strongest, and our Masters were chosen to be compatible with us. We will have to fight, Shirou, and we may have to kill. If that happens-"

"I will not back down, Saber," Shirou cut in, his eyes hardening with a strange light. "This is my Grail War as much as it is yours, and if you're right, then this War could kill thousands of innocent people. I will stop that from happening, and if that means killing every single Master to do that, then I will." He smiled at her, but his eyes were still hard. "Arturia, you are my sword, aren't you? Then I will have to be your wielder. To the very best of my ability. That's my promise to you, so now our contract is complete."

At that moment, a symbol on Shirou's desk lit up. Shirou turned to Saber, and gestured for her to leave the room.

"It's Rin," he explained, "and the symbol is a two-way Projection communicator… Well, I don't really understand it myself, but it's sort of like a video call made with magic. Also, I… I want to keep this to just us for a while. It's not that I don't trust Rin, it's just… She's a Magus in the Association, and I'm not sure how she would react to a new Grail War or anything like that, so…"

Saber nodded. "It will not be a problem, Master. Since I was summoned completely by the Grail this time, and I am a complete Heroic Spirit, I can go into a spirit form," she explained, before disappearing into thin air. Shirou had seen that happen before – Rin's Servant Archer had a tendency to stay in that form much of the time before being killed – but it was strange to watch it happen to Saber. Nodding nonetheless, Shirou turned around and reached out for the symbol, letting his magic touch it and activating the Circuit, to form an image of Rin's bust in midair.

"Shirou," she greeted him, a warm smile on her face, "how have you been? Everything's normal in Fuyuki, right?" Her eyes were piercing, and Shirou suspected that she had some form of magic on to tell if he was lying.

"Ah, Rin, I've been doing great," he responded with a large smile. "Everything's fine over here," he added, grinning widely at the way he had sidestepped her question – for him, how could it not be fine, with Saber at his side again? Rin nodded slowly, but Shirou could tell that she wasn't convinced. She had something on her mind, that much was obvious… "Rin? What's wrong, you're making a strange face," he said gently, at which the young Magus frowned.

"It doesn't make any sense," she said frankly. "A new Grail War has started, and every single Magus in the Association has been having the same dreams. Just fragments, but… It's as if this Grail is on a far higher level than any other. And the Masters have already been chosen, it seems as if they are all incredibly powerful Magi with the most powerful Servants. And since you have history with the Grail War, well…" In a flash, Shirou understood. Rin was worried for him – after all, most Magi knew that Shirou Emiya had won the Fifth Holy Grail War, despite not having been trained as a Magus. Furthermore, if every Magus in the Association had been having the same dreams, and he hadn't…

"Ah, Rin… These dreams, what are they like?" The small smirk that crossed her face made everything clear: this was a test and he had failed. Shirou sighed. "It's only the Masters in this new Grail War who haven't had the dreams, isn't it?" he said, groaning as Rin nodded proudly.

"You shouldn't have tried to lie to her, Shirou," a clear voice rang out from his side. "Hello, Tohsaka," the voice added, as Saber took on her physical form. Rin's eyes widened, and Shirou understood that even if she had been suspicious and worried for him, she had never thought that he would actually become a Master in this new war. "The Masters… Are you allowed to tell us who they are?"

Rin glanced around, her smile cracking slightly. "The Association doesn't know who they are, and the Church isn't telling us if it does. But…" Her voice dropped lower, and both Shirou and Saber leaned forwards to catch what she was saying, "I know that one of them is already dead. The first victim in this Grail War was killed by poison, Shirou. I want you to be very, very careful. If you have to, let Saber taste everything before you eat it, a Servant can't be killed by poison, especially not with Avalon."

"That's ridiculous!" "That's a good suggestion."

Shirou and Saber both spoke at the same time, and then they glanced at each other, as a wicked smile formed on Rin's lips. "Maybe it's a ridiculously good suggestion? Anyways. I've already told you as much as I know, the rest is up to you. Just remember, Shirou, you are the bone of your sword," RIn winked, before cutting off the magic, allowing her picture to fade away.

"You are the bone of your sword?" Saber asked Shirou, who grinned sheepishly.

"Well… I'll be fighting with you this time, Saber. And if you want to fight me to see how well I can do that, then that's fine and I understand, but I don't want to do it in the dojo."

Saber tilted her head curiously, then shrugged. "Very well. If that is your condition, then I can accept it. So make sure that you find a good spot for us to practice, Shirou. Because you're a boy, I won't let you fight unless you can hold up against me," she said lightly, reminding Shirou of his initial foolish unwillingness to let her fight.

"Alright then, Saber! Get ready, I'll prepare a place for us to practice right away," Shirou responded, an eager light in his eyes. To spar against Saber again… No matter what his eyes told him, it wouldn't be real for him until their blades locked in practice.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_

_**So, this is Chapter 1, and it is WAY earlier than I thought it would be! Just finished the Fate route, I'm playing through UBW right now, and as a result, this chapter has gone through a couple of changes. I've started working on chapter 2, but past that I'm gonna be playing this by ear, so any suggestions, comments, reviews, and criticism are completely welcome, and if you want to argue with any aspect of this timeline, go ahead and PM me to find out exactly how I'm right ;)**_

_**Furthermore, I have decided that I will *not* be changing this to an 'M' rating to add lemon, and if this becomes M-rated it will be purely due to epic fight scenes. If you want lemons, go play FSN. No, really, I'm serious. Game's freaking graphic ^_^**_

_**Chapter 2 will be up before the end of next week with any luck, and I intend to be done with the UBW route when I post it, but don't wory about posting spoilers in your comments if you feel the need to. Have fun, read and review!**_


	3. Chapter 2: Return of the Tiger

**_Disclaimer: Still don't own FSN, this is probably the last time I'm gonna do one of these. If you didn't get it the first three times, you won't get it no matter how often I repeat it._**

* * *

_"So, this is Khabarovsk? It doesn't look like much, but it is close to where Saber's Master is, am I correct, Servant?"_

_"That is exact."_

_"Well then. Since you are the weakest of Servants, we will have to get you more power. Prepare yourself for the ritual: this insignificant town will become your strength."_

_"Of course, Master."_

* * *

"I am the bone of my sword.

Steel is my body and fire is my blood.

I have created over a thousand blades,

Unaware of loss, nor aware of gain.

I have withstood pain to create weapons,

Waiting for one's arrival.

I have no regrets, this is the only path.

My whole life is Unlimited Blade Works."

Ignoring the flames spreading through his Magic Circuits, and knowing that he cannot keep the Reality Marble active for more than five minutes at the most, Shirou is proud of his ability, and as the ring of fire expands and his internal 'self' is projected onto the world, Saber can only look around in amazement.

"Shirou… You have become a much greater Magus than that time," she said, a strange expression on her face.

"Not really," Shirou grinned sheepishly, before putting on a serious expression. "Anyways, I can't keep this up very long, so we need to start now… Are you ready, Saber?" The blue-clad Servant nodded once, drawing her invisible sword, and taking up a position facing Shirou. Her face was curious, but her eyes were worried: even though Shirou had assured her that they could safely spar with real weapons, she did not want to hurt him. And then she realized.

"Shirou? Where is your weapon?" she asked him, lowering her sword slightly – as he did not have a weapon, it would be unchivalrous of her to attack him.

Blink.

Shirou was right in front of her, two curved swords in his hands. One was black as deepest night, the other as white as freshly fallen snow. Somehow, she knew that they were blades made for the sake of the making. Not instruments for cutting, not weapons of war. But even so, to use them in battle such as this was not sacrilege, it was… Fulfillment.

Clang!

Almost of its own volition, Excalibur sprang up into a horizontal block, as Shirou's paired blades fell down at Saber's shoulders. Having expected the defense to occur, he didn't pause for an instant, sending the twin swords into complex spirals that ended with them slicing towards Saber's sides.

Ring, crash!

Excalibur spun in a graceful arc, sliding Bakuya up and over Saber's head, before dipping down to bite into the earth, stopping Kanshou's reckless swing. Kicking off backwards, Saber brought Excalibur into a ready position, studying Shirou with a serious face. This was not the Master who needed protecting even from his own stubborn self, the Master who had taken Rider's attacks helplessly. This was a Master who was almost on par with her, Saber could feel it. A Master who could very nearly challenge a Heroic Spirit, at least until they unleashed their Noble Phantasm. Her lips curved into a tight smile, and she threw herself forwards again, her entire body relishing the sensation of being able to spar with someone she loved, to spar with unreserved abandon.

Crack!

With wide-open eyes, Saber stood where she was, Excalibur vibrating in her hands from the jarring stop. Gone were the twin blades. In Shirou's hands stood a weapon she was familiar with, and yet hated. A weapon that had nearly killed her, had nearly killed Shirou. A wickedly serrated axe-sword made of jagged rock, with Excalibur trapped between two of its teeth. With a clear ring, Saber drew back, sheathing Excalibur immediately.

"Shirou… That was..?"

The red-haired youth nodded. "The blade wielded by the Berserker Herakles. We shouldn't talk here, though. It's troublesome for me to keep it up, so…" With a sigh, Shirou closed his eyes, and again, flames appeared on the horizon. As if consuming this world in an inferno, then rushed in, racing furiously to destroy everything. Beyond the flames there was nothing, and as they reached Saber she closed her eyes, and then…

"You can open your eyes, Saber. We're still in the shed," Shirou's voce called out. Hesitantly, Saber's eyes cracked open.

"That was no illusion," she said with certainty. "That place was real, your blades were real… But I have never heard of a Projection spell that powerful."

Shirou nodded, and grinned at her. "It wasn't really a Projection. Well. It sort of was, but... Umm, it's a little bit embarrassing. That was a Reality Marble."

"A Reality… Marble?" Saber repeated in a quiet voice. "My magus mentioned those once. That was a projection of your inner world, Shirou? But it was so… Empty…" A field of blades, an empty sky, a world devastated by the utter void of emptiness… She knew what she had felt.

"Ah. Maybe that was unclear," Shirou shrugged. "It's not empty, not for me. All of those swords you saw in there, I know each of them by name. I've held them, I've trained with them, I've fought with them. So for me, that world is full of very dear friends. But until we fought there, I had never realized that it was missing something," he added, with a sad smile, and Saber knew what he meant. A sword was useless, even as a friend, unless it was used. Shirou's inner world had nothing in the way of human companionship. Until she had returned.

"Well, that's not a problem anymore, right?" she said, smiling at him, and was relieved to see his response.

"Yeah. Umm… It's late, though, and I need to get some sleep now. Because I used my 'Unlimited Blade Works,' I can skip training my magic for tonight, so, umm, I was wondering if you wanted to…"

Saber smiled, understanding completely. "Of course, Shirou. It is better if the Master and Servant sleep in the same room, after all," she replied, a mischievous reminder of their awkward initial relationship. _A girl shouldn't fight, indeed!_

* * *

Shirou's eyes cracked open, and he panicked when he heard soft breathing next to him. Who had snuck into his room while he was asleep, and why were they waiting for him!? But as his mind woke up and he started to remember, he let a small smile cross his lips. Saber was back with him. No, more than that. _His_ Saber was back with him. _Of course,_ his mercilessly awake brain pummeled him, _that means that you will have to fight now. You know what a Holy Grail War means…_ But even so, Saber was back!

"Hmm. I should make breakfast," he said quietly, glancing at the clock. It was six-thirty, so he needed to get ready. Pulling on a shirt as he left his room, he padded over to the kitchen and started to rummage around, trying to decide what he should make. _I usually make toast now, since Rin gets angry when she has a Japanese breakfast and toast is easy to make, but she isn't here, and Saber always like my Japanese breakfasts… Well then, it's decided! I'll make rice balls and miso soup, and maybe some extra chicken so that we can have some for lunch too._ But his culinary musings were interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

"Shirou, I'm hungry!" he heard a loud voice call. _Sheesh, why does Fuji-nee always have to be like this- Fuji-nee! She doesn't know that Saber's back, so it'll be bad if…_

"Good morning, Shirou, good morning, Taiga," a calm voice came from behind him, as Saber entered the room.

"Oh, Saber, it's good to see you," Taiga replied without thinking, before glancing at Shirou. "Japanese breakfast? I'm glad you're finally realizing that Tohsaka is wrong about toast being a full meal… Wait… Shirou? WHAT IS SABER DOING HERE, OF ALL THINGS!?"

And there. It had happened. Of course, Shirou knew it was coming, so it was only to be expected, but…

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME EARLIER!? Saber, I missed you so much, I kept on asking Shirou where you had gone so I could go looking for you, but he would never say! Isn't Shirou mean to me?"

Well. That was unexpected. But as usual, his Saber knew just how to deal with Fuji-nee.

"It's okay, Taiga, I surprised him by only arriving late last night. So he couldn't have told you anything, because he didn't know either. I'm sorry, I should have told you sooner as well," Saber responded, with an apologetic bow, catching Taiga off-guard.

"Ah, no, because it was your fault, Saber, it's okay… Just let me know next time, so we can play a trick on Shirou, yeah?"

_This woman is unreal!_ But of course, breakfast is ready by then, so Shirou sets it out on the table and sits down with the two women.

"Itadakimasu."

Breakfast is normally loud with Fuji-nee around, but this time is even worse, because she keeps on asking Saber questions, and Saber only encourages them. But, in between a break in the conversation, Shirou can hear a small noise.

"-a gas leak in Khabarovsk, Russia. There seem to have been no survivors."

Shirou is stunned at the news, and he looks at Saber, who has also fallen silent. As if sensing the mood, Taiga stops talking, looking at the two with a curious expression. And as she, too, stops making noise, the radio becomes clearer.

"Initial reports indicate that the gas leak occurred earlier this night, somewhere near the center of Khabarovsk. There is some confusion on the type of gas leaked as well, since the gas did not dissipate until it was well outside the town. Russian authorities have so far refused to comment on the incident, but an anonymous source has stated that the pipes do not show any signs of tampering or accident."

As Shirou's eyes meet Saber's, the air around him seems to become red, and he can faintly hear small sounds. _Drip. Sag. _Blood Fort Andromeda. Even though it is nowhere near as cruel as Rider's Boundary Spell, this is the same thing, they can both tell. Just one thought is running through their heads, and they know that it is the same thought.

_Caster._

* * *

**_Author's Note:_**

**_Welcome to Chapter 2! I've played through a chunk of UBW now, so I've got a bit more of an understanding of UBW and how my Shirou will be thinking (I hope... Bastard keeps on surprising me though!) Once again, comments, reviews and even flames (yeah, I'm probably insane) are welcomed. Also, I will be the first to admit that I am not 100% sure what the differences between M and T ratings are, and so if anyone thinks that this should be changed to an M rating for any reason, go ahead and tell me your thoughts._**

**_Shirou's cooking was one of the main themes of FSN, so I couldn't just ignore that, and any of you who were secretly wishing for one of those awkward cooking scenes... More might be coming! I have absolutely no idea, it all depends on Shirou. But m_****_ore importantly, this was my first fight scene in Fate/Rise Up! Yay! Feedback would be welcomed, and any comment, tips or suggestions would be awesome._**

**_Chapter 3 should come out soon, as long as this story keeps on flowing through me this way, so have fun, read, and wait patiently for the next part!_**

* * *

_**Status:**_

**Saber**

Master: Shirou Emiya

True Name: Arturia Uther Pendragon

Sex: Female

Height/Weight: 154cm/42kg

Alignment: Lawful Good

Strength: B

Endurance: B

Agility: C

Magical Energy: A

Luck: B

Noble Phantasm: B

Noble Phantasm:

Invisible Air - Boundary Field of the Wind King

Excalibur - Sword of Promised Victory

Avalon: All is a Distant Utopia

**Lancer**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

**Archer**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

**Rider**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

**Caster**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

**Assassin**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

**Berserker**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?


	4. Chapter 3: Strategy Meeting

_"You are certain Saber's Master is coming?"_

_"I am, Master. They will have certainly felt the presence of another Servant so close to them, and even if not, the deaths of Khabarovsk will certainly arouse their suspicions. It is common wisdom to strike now, before we can repeat this with another town and become even more powerful."_

_"Hmm. I am not entirely convinced, but it will do. Berserker's Master is being lured here as well. I will make myself scarce, Servant. When one of the two Masters is gone from this Grail War, we will know the Servant of the other, and possibly more."_

_"I understand. I am to remain here, then, and observe the battle?"_

_"Indeed. Do not strike, not even if you could kill both of them at once. Puppets such as Berserker and Saber are too valuable to toss away simply to gain a small advantage in this Grail War."_

_"Of course, Master. They will never know I was here, watching them."_

* * *

Shirou sighed, as Taiga left with a cheerful wave. Next to him, Saber instantly became serious as well. Shirou knew that face: it was Saber's "strategy meeting" face, and the one she made whenever she had to give him news or advice that he would dislike – or if he gave _her_ advice she disliked.

"We should go to this town, Khabarovsk. If Caster is indeed there, then this is an opportunity we can't pass up. With my skills, I can easily overpower the Servant, and from what you showed me of your Projection skills, you should be able to defeat the Master as well. We can remove one of the contestants in this War immediately." But for all that the Servant made a good point, Shirou shook his head, uneasy for some reason.

"I'm not sure it will be that easy, Saber," he replied. "For all we know, this Caster could be powerful enough to get past even your magic resistance. And even worse, if it's Medea again…" Neither of them spoke as they were reminded forcibly of Shirou's first Grail War, when the Caster-class Servant Medea had easily turned Saber against her Master.

"But Shirou, if we let Caster go now, then we have no guarantee that he won't do something like this again, and become even more powerful," Saber reminded him, and Shirou fell quiet. That was his dilemma. To act now, and risk going into a trap, or to not act, and let Caster dictate the terms of the battle? With a sigh, the young Master shook his head.

"Well, we certainly need to get moving if we want to stop that from happening again," he admitted, before glancing at Saber. "But first… I have some questions, Saber, if you don't mind me asking."

"Of course," the Servant replied, seeming curious as to what her Master wanted to know. Shirou smiled at her, before rubbing his head slightly.

"Well, first off… How can there be a Grail War happening now, when you destroyed the Grail during the last war?" he demanded, but only received a slight sigh in reply.

"Shirou, you haven't been listening," Saber chided him. "We destroyed the Fuyuki Grail, yes. But didn't you hear the fake Priest when he was explaining the Grail War to you? He said that there were hundreds of possible Grails in existence, and the Fuyuki Grail was only one of them. This is… Well. It's the True Grail, I think. You know, the actual cup from the legends, the one that can grant even the wish of immortality to the one person capable of obtaining it. And since it's the actual Grail, it would only grant the wish, without the side-effects of the Fuyuki Grail."

Shirou sat back and whistled lowly. "So… This is the sort of Grail you were looking for, isn't it?" he commented, at which Saber nodded.

"Yes, it is, but… I no longer would try to unmake my own legend and destroy the Heroic Spirit known as Arturia. I have accepted that Arturia's sacrifice was necessary for her country, and…" Going quiet for an instant, she blushed prettily. "I have more personal wishes to make, now." Shirou found himself smiling at his Servant's openness.

"Well, that's a good thing to hear," he nodded, before frowning again. "But I guess it brings me to my next question… Why are you here?" His eyes widened as he suddenly realized what that sounded like, and he tried to backtrack desperately. "I didn't mean it like that, it's just that… I mean, umm… Didn't you say that you would be taken back to your own time when the Grail was destroyed, and that you wouldn't become a Heroic Spirit because you gave up the contract?"

Saber looked down at the ground, her blonde hair falling down to curtain her face. When at last she glanced up at Shirou, he felt the blood freeze in his veins. Saber was furious. Somehow, he knew the anger wasn't directed at him – not directly, anyways, or he would have run away, Master or not. But still, that level of hatred, Shirou couldn't understand what had happened to make her so enraged.

"The Throne of Heroes," she spat. "It lied, it tricked me and used me." Her fists clenched and unclenched convulsively, as if throttling the very concept of the Throne. "The Throne of Heroes isn't just a strange location, you know?" Saber stated, her voice losing some of the hot rage as her iron will tempered it to ice-cold fury. "It was created to enforce the ritual of Heroic Spirits. It seeks out those beings worthy to act as Guardians of the world, and it binds them into the contract of a Heroic Spirit. Oftentimes they accept of their own volition. Sometimes the Throne of Heroes bribes them to accept. On occasion, it causes them to accept without telling them the terms." She was calm now, but Shirou knew that this was a Saber who was restraining herself with everything she had, only wanting to lash out at the true target of her enmity. "For me, it twisted the terms." She sighed, and smiled at Shirou. "The Throne of Heroes is really greedy, you know? It wanted Arturia as a Heroic Spirit, so when Arturia the Person destroyed the Fuyuki Grail, the Throne of Heroes fought back. The terms I had agreed on, that I would become a Holy Spirit in return for obtaining the Holy Grail before I died… The Throne of Heroes decided that my victory in two subsequent Holy Grail Wars was enough to fulfill that term, and so it copied Arturia's body from the fields of Camlann, took her soul away from the land of Avalon, and made her into a Heroic Spirit. And then it stops me from complaining too much, by giving me the only wish I could have asked for right off the bat," she finished softly, her emerald eyes meeting Shirou's own.

Quietly, the two studied each other, Shirou knowing that this was a Saber to tread carefully around, while Saber knew that this Shirou was different from before – and he still probably had questions for her. She was right, in a way.

"All right. I guess it's my turn," Shirou replied with a small shrug. "I should probably tell you more about what I've been up to since we won the War, but I have no idea where to start, so go ahead and ask me anything you want to know about, and I'll try to answer."

Saber nodded, before frowning slightly. "An easy question first, I think," she commented. "I haven't seen Ilya around, is she staying with Sakura or something?" Looking at Shirou's wince, the young woman realized that her question can't have been as easy as she first believed.

"She… Ilya was a homunculus," Shirou explained, his voice quiet and shaky. Saber's eyes widened in comprehension, and she raised a finger to his lips, to stop him from going any further.

"I see. I am sorry that I asked you that question first, when in truth I have been wondering much more about you. That field you created last night, the Reality Marble… How did you learn such a thing? From what my Magus told me, I thought it was nearly impossible for a human being to create one."

Shirou nodded, relief evident in his eyes at the less painful territory. "I have Rin to thank, actually. Rin and Archer," he started. "You must remember Archer's true identity?" Saber nodded: the revelation that the Archer-class Servant was actually the Counter Guardian EMIYA was not one any of them had been expecting that day. "Well, his Noble Phantasm was that Reality Marble, Unlimited Blade Works. And, since Rin was his Master, she had unconsciously absorbed the knowledge of how to create the Reality Marble, I guess… Umm, it's still a bit confusing to me, but I think that's what happened." Saber nodded – the bond between a Master and a Servant was powerful, and although she had never heard of a Master learning to use their Servant's powers, she supposed that it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume that Rin's knowledge of EMIYA's Unlimited Blade Works would give her the knowledge to help Shirou master his own version of the Reality Marble. "So anyways, after we destroyed the Holy Grail, Rin went off to the Clock Tower in London, and she took me with her so that I could register as a true Magus." Shirou smirked slightly as he remembered that encounter. The Association had been wary, at first, of accepting him, but that had ended as soon as he Traced several of the more notable Noble Phantasms he had encountered during the War. They had given him a strange short little belt-cape after that, although how he was supposed to wear the garment, given that it seemed designed to buckle around his shoulders, he had no idea. "Anyways. They let me in, and after that Rin decided to start teaching me magic for real. The lessons were… Intense," he said wincing slightly. Rin was not known for her patience with a student slow to grasp some of the more difficult concepts of magecraft. "Anyways. We soon realized that all I can really do is Reinforcement and my Projections, and so she focused on those. It wasn't too long before brought up the idea of trying to use Unlimited Blade Works with my own power," Shirou admitted, glancing away at Saber's glare. "It seemed like a good idea at the time!" he tried to justify himself, before gathering his composure. "Anyways. Rin agreed that I should learn how to do that, although I think that she just missed Archer a bit, but we started working on it. I figured out how to recreate the Self-Projection on my own-"

"Ah, so that is what you did when we sparred? The blades did not seem as true as I would have expected from a Reality Marble," Saber cut in, to Shirou's nod.

"Yeah. Those weren't actually real swords, as much as they were a sort of background image of my soul. Anyhow, I can project my Self onto the world, which is almost the complete Reality Marble, but it's nowhere near at the level it was when I used it with Archer's knowledge. I guess I just need to work on my Magic Circuits until I can perform the whole thing on my own," he shrugged, and it was Saber's turn to nod.

"Even so," she reassured him, "just a partially-completed Reality Marble is already impressive enough, and for someone as new to magic as you are… You really have grown since last time, Shirou," she smiled, before twisting her mouth into a grimace. "However, you still haven't answered my first question. Are we going to go after Caster now, or not?"

Shirou sighed. "I've been thinking about it," he admitted, "and I don't really see that we have a choice. Like you said, if we leave Caster alone, they'll just do this again until they get powerful enough to come after us. And you are probably the Servant with the highest chance of defeating Caster anyways. We should go, I just don't know how I'm going to explain to Fuji-nee that we're leaving the country together…"

"Well. That's easy," Saber commented brightly. "Last time, we told her that I was a friend of Kiritsugu's, from a foreign country. Just tell Taiga that I invited you to visit my home, and that you want to go. She'll say yes, you'll see."

* * *

Shirou sat back in the airplane's seat, his brow furrowed in worry: Fuji-nee had been extremely supportive when Saber had brought up the prospect of taking Shirou back to her "home country" for a visit, and a part of him wondered whether the young teacher knew more than she was letting on. But if she had, then surely she wouldn't have insisted that she accompany them too, would she?

"I guess if she's paying for the tickets, I can't complain, can I?" he muttered with a shrug, turning to Saber, before freezing and then laughing helplessly. The proud and powerful Saber was staring outside the window with an expression of almost child-like glee: for all that the Throne gave Heroic Spirits knowledge of the world they were called to, this was the first time she had ever been able to enjoy flight in an airplane – he gathered that the other time she had flown, it had been necessary for her to stay on guard the entire trip, and Shirou was glad that he was powerful enough on his own now that she could afford to relax around him, even if only a little. With a blink, the young swordswoman turned back to Shirou, before smiling happily.

"I'm so glad Taiga was okay with this," she said, before she, too, had to frown, and her voice dropped to below a whisper. "Although, it is troublesome that she is going to be coming with us. When we find Caster, I might not be able to protect her as well as you." Shirou nodded unhappily, knowing that was a risk they would have to take at Fuji-nee's own insistence. "Don't worry too much, Saber. Fuji-nee's tougher than she looks," he replied in the same quiet tone. "And besides, if worst comes to worst, I can just trace a sword for her to defend herself with. Hmm, I wonder what Fuji-nee would be like with that Imperial katana Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon stored? Wait. Never mind that. She's scary enough with just a shinai, I don't ever want to see her with a real sword," he muttered quickly, to Saber's amusement. A smile on his own lips, Shirou sat back to enjoy the flight as best he could.

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Alright, Chapter 3's up! I first off want to thank my awesome new beta-reader and Nasuverse advisor, JET: without you, this story would've flopped under the weight of its own inaccuracies **_**real**_** fast. Also, some of my more attentive (pronounced: not blind) readers may have noticed that I've added a Status section beneath the AN: this is to represent the knowledge that Shirou and Saber have of the other participants in the Grail War. It'll be updated at the end of each chapter, to reflect what they've found out during the chapter.**_

_**I also want to thank Katlin for faithfully reviewing every single one of my chapters - and don't worry, you'll meet at least one of the other Servants in the next chapter - as well as everyone else who has reviewed, favorited or followed this series. You people are the ones who show me that I'm doing something right... Even when you're complaining that I'm doing something wrong (looking at you, Himeka ;3) And most importantly, I want to thank Shirou and Saber for helping me write this story. Not gonna thank Fuji-nee, though, cause I'm still sorta annoyed that she insisted on going with them.**_

_**As a last point: I have a timeline for my Shirou's route (which I will admit, I copied from Gabriel Blessing's Hill of Swords - read it, it's an awesome fic and the Shirou he uses is pretty much exactly the same route as the Shirou I've got, I was surprised as heck when I read it yesterday!), so here it is:**_

_**This route starts off following the Fate path up to the confrontation with Berserker. There, Rin uses a command spell and pulls Archer back before he dies, leaving him only wounded and in spirit form when the final confrontation with Berserker happens. From there, it follows the Caster arc from Unlimited Blade Works, ignoring Shinji (cause he's already dead), with Gilgamesh not getting involved and Ilya alive in the background. When Shirou/Saber's contract gets broken by Caster's Rule Breaker, it was on Saber's side instead of Shirou's, so he still has his command spells. Lancer gets involved, acting against Kotomine for being such a cowardly Master, who lets it happen partially because he doesn't like the idea of Caster making her own Grail, and partially out of curiosity as to what will happen. When it comes time for Saber to make a new contract at the end of the arc, she does so again with Shirou (via his connection to her through Avalon) rather than with Rin. From there it's back to the Fate route, restarting around the time Shirou takes Saber out on the date.**_

_**Anyways, I hope that you all enjoy this chapter, and that it helps answer some of the questions I've been getting on "how is this possible!?" but if not, oh well. I will not be posting chapter 4 until I beat UBW, so expect it to come out sometime next week at the latest.**_

* * *

_**Status:**_

**Saber**

Master: Shirou Emiya

True Name: Arturia Uther Pendragon

Sex: Female

Height/Weight: 154cm/42kg

Alignment: Lawful Good

Strength: B

Endurance: B

Agility: C

Magical Energy: A

Luck: B

Noble Phantasm: B

Noble Phantasm:

Invisible Air - Boundary Field of the Wind King

Excalibur - Sword of Promised Victory

Avalon: All is a Distant Utopia

**Lancer**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

**Archer**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

**Rider**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

**Caster**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

**Assassin**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

**Berserker**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?


	5. Chapter 4: A Cold Reception

_The man stared around at the silent town, cold fury burning in his eyes. "Berserker. Where are they?"_

_"Close," the giant shape rumbled. "And coming closer."_

_"Ah. So they must feel that slaughtering my hometown to feed their Spirit will let them defeat you. Well then, they're in for a surprise, aren't they? I can't wait to see you in action, Berserker…"_

_"I will give you a good show, Master."_

"C-cold," Shirou chattered, hugging his jacket closer around himself, trying to block out the icy wind that was freezing into his bones. "How can people even live here?" The three of them had arrived in Khabarovsk only a few minutes ago, Fuji-nee having driven them from the airport into the city proper. At Shirou's comment, the older woman glanced at Saber curiously.

"Isn't this your homeland, Saber? You can't think it's that cold, surely?" Unbelievably, the teacher was wearing only her usual outfit and a light coat on top of it, but she didn't seem to be at all affected by the cold. Perhaps the Fujimura were made of sterner stuff than other mortals, or perhaps Taiga was simply insane, but she seemed perfectly at home in the freezing cold.

With trembling fingers clutching a heavy parka tight to her slender frame, Saber shook her head. "I'm from England originally," she admitted, "but I wanted to see a bit of Russia. I had no idea it would be anything like this… There's no-one around, the streets are completely empty… It's almost like the city is dead or something." Shirou's eyes widened as Saber finished talking, and he instinctively pressed up against her – not just because of the cold.

"D-don't say something like t-that," he admonished her, before a gust of wind shut him up again. He waited for the chill to pass, before opening his mouth once more. "Fuji-nee, maybe we should leave. This is too cold for anyone to enjoy," he moaned, and Saber nodded, before whispering quietly into his ear.

"Caster is gone. I can't feel his presence here anymore… No, rather, there's a different sort of pressure. I don't know if it's another Heroic Spirit that I didn't know was here, but… It's making me nervous. The sooner we leave here, the sooner I can know that we're safe, that you're safe." Shirou nodded silently, before turning to Fuji-nee.

"So, can we go?" he asked again, slightly irritated that she hadn't already answered him. But then her eyes widened, and she pointed to somewhere behind him. "Another person," she smiled. Turning around, Shirou squinted, barely able to make out a shape against the freezing wind. No, two shapes, he realized as they came closer. One was a small shape, tall and slender, the other a massive shape, a beast of a man. Saber tensed next to him, and instinctively, his own fists clenched.

"Fuji-nee, could you please go get the car? I want to leave now," he said firmly, hoping that the teacher would agree – she wasn't a part of this world of theirs, the world of the Grail War, and it would be unfair to draw her into a fight like this one promised to be. Taiga must have sensed that something was off, because she nodded once, her face set in a serious and grim expression, before turning and heading back to the garage where they had parked, calling back behind her, "Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back to pick you up!"

"Berserker," Saber muttered as soon as Taiga was far away enough to not hear it, and Shirou nodded in response. "Shirou, stay back. I can probably hold him off long enough for Taiga to come back and get you out of here. Don't risk your life, no matter what. I'm just a Heroic Spirit, you're the Master."

At that, Shirou's eyes hardened, and he stepped forwards with a small smirk. "Not this time, Saber. Besides. I have a plan. You hold of Berserker for just a small time, then that should be enough. If I can hurt Berserker's Master enough, he'll have to run away or risk his Master dying." Saber glanced at him, only to notice a long bow already in his hands and three arrows quavering point-first in the snowy ground.

"Fine," she sighed, but her lips were curved up as she spoke. "You really are a stubborn Master, Shirou." In an instant, the girl was clad in her armor, her empty hands positioned as if wielding a blade, as the two of them stared at the approaching pair.

"You must be Saber and her Master, _da_? I am Alexei Ivanovich, Master of Berserker. It is good to meet you, although I am not happy at what you have done to Khabarovsk. It was a beautiful town before, you know? Full of people. Now, it is a graveyard, thanks to you. Berserker? _Ubeyte ikh_." **[[Kill them.]]** With a roar, the massive figure charged forwards, swinging a massive club with what appeared to be an elongated jawbone at Saber's still figure. With a crash of steel against bone, Saber's sword swung up in a perfect parry, knocking the club aside and arcing towards Berserker's neck. Only for the giant to keep rushing forwards, ignoring Saber's sword, and slamming his entire body into her. Shirou jumped back in shock, grabbing two of his Traced arrows as he stumbled backwards, and setting one to his bowstring.

"Very good, you have some fight in you," Alexei called out, amusement evident in his voice. "I was surprised, though. I thought your Saber would be stronger, with the life of an entire town in her!" His voice was no longer amused – now the Russian man was driven by anger, and it was becoming clear as he raised an arm towards Shirou, a Magic Crest glowing brightly on the palm of his hand. "Still. It is no problem. I will kill you here, and Khabarovsk will be avenged," he stated, before a beam of energy lanced straight for Shirou's heart. Flooding the nocked arrow with magical energy, Shirou fired it at the magical attack, the two projectiles meeting each other in midair and exploding in a blast of magic. _That's right,_ Shirou thought, remembering one of his earlier lessons in magecraft. _Magical Energy from one person will naturally oppose the magical energy of another person. Which means that I can't afford to miss, since I only have one arrow left… And I can't block his next attack that way if I want to be able to attack him myself._

He jumped back again, feeling rather than hearing an attack from the side, and only just managed to dodge a powerful overhand swing of Berserker's bone weapon, gulping as it smashed a foot-wide hole in the ground. _If it can do that to the ground, I don't want to know what it could do to me,_ he thought frantically to himself. At that moment, he saw what was going on behind Berserker, and relaxed fractionally: he was safe.

"Berserker! Behind you!" the Russian Master called out, to which the giant figure spun around far faster than something that huge should be able to, the club rising to block a sword made of air. Saber didn't let up on her attack for a single second, however, knowing instinctively that to give Berserker the time to breath was to give him the time to attack, and that her only defense was a flawless web of steel.

"Shirou! I don't know how long I can keep this up," she called out, to which he nodded, drawing back the bowstring again and sighting at Berserker's Master. "Saber, if he casts a spell, I'm going to be selfish here, and ask you to block it and then go back to stopping Berserker," he said. "I can't afford to miss or block the attack myself."

At his words, Alexei grinned viciously, raising his hand again and preparing a volley of spells. "Well then, let's see if you can find the time to aim!" And the Russian began to fire off spell after spell, launching them in a nearly continuous wave of magic, each attack coming closer and closer to hitting the frantically dodging Shirou, all his attention focused on the Master in front of him, bow and arrow forgotten. Suddenly, the magic barrage was cut off by a blue-clad figure, Saber appearing in front of Shirou and batting away the spells, giving him time to notch the arrow, center himself on the Russian, draw back, and…

Clack!

With the dry sound of wood against wood, Berserker's club was stopped by a thin length of bamboo, with a wrapped hilt and a piece of tiger-striped cloth fluttering behind it. "Whatever you're going to do, Shirou, do it now!" Taiga yelled, as Berserker relentlessly drove her back.

_This is the only path, I have no regrets,_ Shirou told himself silently, before his fingers relaxed, the arrow speeding towards Berserker's Master, an inevitable thunderbolt aimed at his heart. Un-Tracing the bow, Shirou touched Saber's shoulder slightly, and the girl immediately kicked away from him, adding her blade to Taiga's fight with the massive Berserker, as Shirou raced towards the man's Master, Kanshou and Bakyua appearing in his hands in a heartbeat. With a solid _thunk_, the arrow he had shot slid into Alexei's shoulder, followed shortly by the paired blades that swept towards his head. With a desperate leap, the Russian threw himself backwards and out of Shirou's reach, only to have the Japanese Master throw his blades at the man – after all, EMIYA had been an Archer-class Servant, and Shirou was no slouch in that regard.

"Berserker, protect me!" Alexei spat out, and the space in front of him rippled, before Berserker charged out, blocking the two blades with his massive torso. Shirou's eyes widened as he saw them skid off the Servan't skin, twin trails of sparks flying off, as if the massive man was coated with steel. But he couldn't afford to let himself get distracted, and most certainly, he could _not_ give either of the pair time to breathe.

"Saber," he called out himself, and the swordswoman was at his side immediately. "Kill Berserker," he ordered her. "I'm sure your sword can cut through whatever he used to block my blades." He was interrupted by a snort of laughter from behind the giant.

"Not quite, Master of Saber. There is nothing that can harm my Servant on this world. His protection is invincible," Alexei smirked, before pulling the arrow out of his shoulder and tossing it to the ground, grimacing as he used a spell to stop the flow of blood, before placing a hand on his Servant's back, causing Shirou to gulp as an aura of Magical Energy flickered around the giant's wrists and ankles, proof of a Reinforcement magic. "Now, I think you will find that out for yourselves. Berserker! Destroy Saber."

With a roar, Berserker flung himself forwards, the massive club swinging down at Saber's unprotected face, only for the young woman to disappear and reappear almost instantly next to him, her sword reversed in her hands for a killing blow into the back of his neck. Driving it down, she didn't expect much resistance, if any, so she was as shocked as Shirou when her blade merely scraped off of Berserker's muscular neck. But her shock lasted only for an instant, before the giant's club caught her with a glancing blow across the chest, sending her flying backwards several meters. Picking herself back up and gritting her teeth, she readied herself again. This was a battle between Servants, after all. No words were needed: they would fight until one of them won, or until their Masters told them to stop. And they weren't the only ones – their Masters were glaring at each other intensely, Alexei hating the Master he believed had destroyed his town, Shirou knowing that the man wouldn't stop fighting until one of their Servants had won. And then the unexpected third party, Taiga Fujimura, who was glaring at the giant with gritted teeth, ignoring the pain that had come from blocking a single one of his strikes, and willing to do whatever it took to protect the two she considered her family. And then, Alexei smirked, raising a hand at the defenseless Taiga, before unleashing a blast of energy, similar to the one he had used against Shirou earlier, but far more focused in scope, far more powerful. At the same time, Berserker charged forwards, swinging the club clumsily down at Saber, roaring fiercely when she dodged it with a grim expression, and then, when Saber charged in to capitalize on the giant's mistake… She met one of Berserker's fists traveling in the opposite direction, the hammer of flesh slamming into her torso and flinging her backwards. Throwing himself in the path of the Russian's magical attack, Shirou Traced Kanshou and Bakuya in an instant. Knowing that he would only get one chance to stop the attack, he crossed the paired blades in front of his face and stood firm, the blades dispersing the worst of the magical attack before disintegrating. At the same time, Taiga sprinted forwards, Torashinai arcing to smack uselessly against the back of Berserker's neck. Picking herself up, Saber ran forwards again to engage the giant, shouting for Shirou to back them up.

"Fuji-nee!" Shirou shouted, quickly Tracing a weapon and tossing it at the woman who deftly caught it. "Use it now!" Turning back to face Alexei, he was just in time to see a blast of energy slam into his side, tearing through his shirt and skin with equal ease. Falling to his knees, he could only hope that his contribution had been enough. It was up to Saber now, Saber and Fuji-nee…

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Welcome to Chapter 4! Again, I want to thank my beta-reader JET for helping me come up with a name for this chapter, as well as for pointing out my failures. And laughing at them. And making me end this chapter here instead of dragging it out for ages. *ahem* Anyways. With this chapter, Shirou and Saber meet the second Servant, Berserker! And I did what I swore never to do, and ended it on a cliffhanger... I'm sorry! Kinda. Also thanks to everyone who's favorited, followed and/or reviewed this story, it's my first serious fanfic for all intents and purposes, and it's nice to know that some people approve, or at least care enough to disapprove.**_

_**On another note, I beat UBW about a week ago, so I have no excuses for how late this chapter is. Nonetheless, I'm gonna try to blame Skyrim, TVTropes, Skyrim, other stories, and Skyrim for that, so sorry, it'll probably happen again, it's the price I pay for posting my chapters as soon as they come out instead of building up a backlog and then publishing them regularly. Oh, I also want to blame Fuji-nee, for being insufferable and deciding to claim the spotlight.**_

**_So go ahead, read, review, follow, favorite, tell me that I'm awesome and have fun! Chapter 5 will be up sometime, eventually._**

* * *

_**Status:**_

**Saber**

Master: Shirou Emiya

True Name: Arturia Uther Pendragon

Sex: Female

Height/Weight: 154cm/42kg

Alignment: Lawful Good

Strength: B

Endurance: B

Agility: C

Magical Energy: A

Luck: B

Noble Phantasm: B

Noble Phantasm:

Invisible Air - Boundary Field of the Wind King

Excalibur - Sword of Promised Victory

Avalon: All is a Distant Utopia

**Lancer**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

**Archer**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

**Rider**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

**Caster**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

**Assassin**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

**Berserker**

Master: Alexei Ivanovich

True Name: ?

Sex: Male

Height/Weight: 254cm/310kg

Alignment: Chaotic Insane

Strength: A+

Endurance: A+

Agility: A

Magical Energy: A

Luck: B

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?


	6. Chapter 5: Of Rules and Breaking Them

Glancing down at the weapon she held in her hand, Taiga looked back up to see the giant – Berserker, they had called him – charging at her, his club swinging furiously down at her face. In an instant, Saber was there, an invisible sword stopping the club in its path.

"Taiga! Trust Shirou, he knows what he's doing," Saber shouted, before Berserker clubbed her with his fist, driving her back several feet, where a bolt of energy from Alexei splashed harmlessly against her armor. Gritting her teeth, Taiga stepped forwards, Torashinai swinging forwards to deal the giant a stinging blow on the neck, which he shrugged off as if it was nothing, raising his club to smash her skull in. _I really hope Shirou knows what he's doing, _Taiga prayed, stepping even closer and thrusting the strangely-shaped dagger in her left hand forwards. As the knife pierced the giant's skin, a lock of his hair suddenly glowed purple before falling off, as if cut by an invisible knife. As his eyes widened, Taiga grinned fiercely and pressed her advantage, Torashinai twirling through the air to thwack solidly against the shallow cut.

Alexei's face paled, and he immediately unleashed a barrage of magical bolts, sending a swarm of energy through the air to distract Saber and Taiga: the latter dove out of the way, while the former stood her ground in front of Shirou's unconscious body.

"Berserker!" the Russian Master shouted, "Come here!" With Rule Breaker having cut the Contract between Master and Servant, Alexei was at a disadvantage, and he knew it. And Berserker, confused by freedom and shocked by the sudden loss of his invulnerability though he was, still had enough presence of mind to obey the voice he had come to associate with the term 'Master.' With a roar, he swung the club into the ground, smashing stone and sending shards of gravel up in a stinging spray, before stomping heavily off to his Master, who glared fiercely at the two Humans and their Heroic Spirit companion.

"I will not forget this," he swore, turning around and following his Berserker, "and I will kill you for this insult!"

As Saber rushed towards Shirou, concerned for his health and hoping that it was only exhaustion, Taiga sank to the ground, her shaking knees giving way as the adrenaline sustaining them bled off into her system.

"You owe me an explanation," she moaned, before shock and exhaustion caught up with her and she, too, collapsed.

* * *

"I should probably start at the beginning," Shirou sighed, looking across at Fuji-nee, who nodded once. "Well… I guess the first thing I should tell you, is that this is called the 'Holy Grail War.' It's… It's a fight between Magi, people like me and that Alexei guy who can use Magic. Even if he's better than I am," Shirou muttered, looking away uncomfortably as Saber cut in.

"During the Holy Grail War, the Grail allows seven Magi to summon one Servant each, like me, the spirits of great Heroes who have died. These Servants are split into seven Classes: Saber, Rider, Lancer, Archer, Caster, Berserker and Assassin. Each Class is specialized at something. I'm a Servant of the Saber class, which is why Shirou calls me Saber," she added with a small smile. "The monster we just fought was from the Berserker class, insane warriors with great strength. Servants of the Archer class use ranged weapons while Lancer-class Servants use spears, Rider-class Servants have a powerful beast that they ride, Caster-class Servants are powerful spell-casters in their own right, and the Assassin class is incredibly stealthy."

Shirou nodded at that, before resuming his side of the explanation. "Right. The only way to end the Holy Grail War is to prevent all the other Servants and Masters from being able to fight, and then claiming the Holy Grail as a Master/Servant pair. Normally, since the Masters are weaker than their Servants, they're the ones targeted. So while the Servants stop each other from attacking their respective Masters, the Masters are also trying to kill each other."

Taiga Fujimura frowned at the two teenagers sitting across from her, before shaking her head in disbelief. "You know that all this sounds completely insane, right?" she sighed, covering her face with her hands. "Still, you wouldn't lie to me Shirou, and I want to believe Saber too."

"That's good," Saber smiled, before frowning. "But there's something strange about this Grail War. Normally, no two Masters and Servants fight with each other in two consecutive Grail Wars. Also, the War only happens twice each century, about every sixty years. This time, I was summoned back to fight with Shirou again, and there's only been about five years since the last Grail War, which means that something's off. Shirou and I think that it might not be a corrupted Grail like it was the last few times, but instead it could actually be the real artifact."

"And what does that mean for us?" Taiga asked curiously: if she was being dragged into this strange story of magical Servants and holy cups, she was going to understand all of it, as best she could. But to her surprise, Saber shook her head. "I do not know," the blonde Servant apologized, before glancing sideways at Shirou. "Any ideas?"

But he also shook his head, before suddenly a grin crossed his face. "Actually, I do have an idea," he smirked. "We could ask someone who knows much more than we do… I don't think Tohsaka ever withdrew my standing invitation to come visit her, after all."

* * *

Taiga sighed as she sat back in the plane seat, glancing at the two teens in the seats next to her, both sleeping as they had done for basically the entire flight. They were both sleeping, Shirou having lasted only long enough to get onto the plane and strap himself in before falling asleep, while Saber had protested that she didn't need a ticket – something about Servants being able to become invisible, or something. But Taiga hadn't relented, and so now the girl, too, was curled up, instinctively reaching towards Shirou. It was adorable, really, Taiga thought with a small smile, before glancing up as the pilot announced their arrival in London. But it had to end, and with an evil smirk, she reached across to poke both Shirou and Saber in the side, right where it would tickle them and force them to wake up… And right where their hands were resting on each other.

It was just as wonderful as she had predicted: the two woke up and shot up like twinned robots, before glaring at each other, accusing the other of having poked them. It was no use trying to keep a straight face, Taiga reflected ruefully as she burst into laughter. Her only regret was not being able to see when the looks of shock on their faces turned into looks of shared indignation. Saber sighed and straightened herself, casually adjusting her dress so that it no longer looked completely like she had crumpled it up before putting it on, before reaching over to straighten Shirou's shirt, as he turned an interesting shade of red.

"I can take care of it myself," he protested, but Saber merely shot him an amused glance. "But you were too busy watching me to do it, so I decided that I would take care of it for you," the Servant replied. "This way you can continue watching me." Taiga couldn't help herself then, even if she knew Shirou would hate her for it: the laughter bubbled up again as his blush deepened.

* * *

Two long customs lines, a thoroughly disgruntled Emiya Shirou, several rides on the wrong bus, and a long ride on the correct one later, the three of them were standing in front of the doors of the Clock Tower, the prestigious Magical Academy in London, where Tohsaka Rin was studying as the last of her line. And the one place in London, apparently, that they weren't allowed access.

"I told you! I'm Emiya Shirou, Tohsaka's pupil! I need to see her now, so please let me in!"

"Even if I were inclined to believe you, which I am not, I cannot allow you to enter the Academy. And even if neither of those were an issue, you would not be allowed to see Miss Tohsaka at the current time."

As Shirou muttered angrily, Saber stepped up, her English far more fluent and natural than her Master's as she lent her aid to his feeble attempts at cajoling the guard.

"And, pray tell, why are we not allowed to meet an old friend of ours?" The last thing any of them were expecting was to hear a response from behind them.

"Because she's not in there. And also because you didn't tell her that you'd be coming over, which means that she didn't give anyone instructions to let you in to see her."

Frowning at that piece of news, Shirou turned around. "How do you know tha… Tohsaka!" There, frowning at the trio, was the dark-haired mage herself, who stalked up and pointed a finger, like a gun, into the center of Shirou's chest.

"Shirou! Why didn't you tell me you would be coming over to see me? And bringing Saber and Fujimura-sensei too!" She sighed, crossing her arms and glancing away with a frown. "Whatever. Since you're here, I suppose I should act like a gracious host. But you," and here she poked Shirou again, "aren't allowed in my room right now. So we'll have to talk outside. Follow me." And with a huff, she spun on her feet and started marching away, leaving the hapless trio to follow her.

* * *

"Berserker? Well, I don't suppose even you could mistake a Berserker for any other class, and if Saber says that too, then… So you almost got killed by another Berserker," she sighed. "I really shouldn't be surprised. But… Berserker-class Servants are already powerful in their own right. They shouldn't need to feed on other people besides their Master's prana… You're sure you didn't feel any other Servants nearby, Saber?"

The blonde warrior shook her head. "I would have known if there were others," she confirmed, "and the town was empty. It was just the three of us, Berserker and his Master. But… If this really is the True Grail, then it makes sense that a Master could decide that even berserker's power isn't enough. And that Berserker wasn't as strong as Herakles either: Fujimura-sensei was able to block his attack without being killed."

"But then that proves nothing!" Shirou complained. "All we know now is that Berserkers are ususally strong, but that one wasn't, but his Master could have been trying to empower him by killing that town, but that he seemed as confused as we were! And we're still confused!"

WHAP!

Taiga glared at him, her hand stinging from the slap she had delivered to his skull. "Stop acting like that, Shirou! You're a man, behave like it!"

Rin glanced at Saber, both girls relieved to see that the other was also trying - and failing – to hide a small grin at Shirou's predicament. But the dark-haired mage soon regained her impassive mask, and started to speak again.

"We do know that whoever drained that town of life was powerful and skilled, which means that it must either have been Caster, or else one of the Masters is especially dangerous. Either way, I'd suggest avoiding that Berserker until you have more information. There should be some neutral ground, like Kotomine's Church was supposed to be in the Fuyuki Grail War, but if you don't know where it is, then that's not much use." She sighed again, and shook her head. "You three should stay here, in London, until you find out more about the other Servants and Masters. That way I can help you, since you'd obviously be hopelessly lost without me." Getting up, she smiled again, and this time, all three of the others felt a twinge of fear as she spoke. "Follow me! Don't lag behind!"

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

**_This chapter did NOT want to be written. I must've had everything apart from the last few paragraphs for literally several months, but I only just managed to write it down. Immense thanks to JET, who not only introduced me to F/SN and helped beta this, but also introduced me to Carnival Phantasm, without which I would never have gotten the inspiration to get back to writing and hammering this stubborn chapter out. But I would never have been able to do this without the support of everyone who's read this: if you followed this story, favorited it, reviewed it, or even just read it, the little chart on the author page is what convinced me that people still read this, and still want it to continue._**

**_Now I have some bad news: updates on Fate/Rise Up will be sporadic at best, I have no way of telling you when the next chapter will be coming out, but I can reassure you all that they WILL come out. Even if I didn't want to know how this Grail War ends (which I do), Taiga would beat me up if I stopped writing. And I'm more scared of her than I am of anything else ;)_**

**_Anyways, this was Chapter 5! I hope you all enjoyed it, and rest assured, Chapter 6 will be coming soon*!_**

**_*This does not mean that it will, in fact, be coming out soon. Or, even, that it will be coming out this year. It may not. But it might! The more people read, review, favorite and follow this story, the guiltier I get when I don't write it! So read and review!_**

* * *

_**Status:**_

**Saber**

Master: Shirou Emiya

True Name: Arturia Uther Pendragon

Sex: Female

Height/Weight: 154cm/42kg

Alignment: Lawful Good

Strength: B

Endurance: B

Agility: C

Magical Energy: A

Luck: B

Noble Phantasm: B

Noble Phantasm:

Invisible Air - Boundary Field of the Wind King

Excalibur - Sword of Promised Victory

Avalon: All is a Distant Utopia

**Lancer**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

**Archer**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

**Rider**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

**Caster**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

**Assassin**

Master: ?

True Name: ?

Sex: ?

Height/Weight: ?

Alignment: ?

Strength: ?

Endurance: ?

Agility: ?

Magical Energy: ?

Luck: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?

**Berserker**

Master: Alexei Ivanovich

True Name: ?

Sex: Male

Height/Weight: 254cm/310kg

Alignment: Chaotic Insane

Strength: A+

Endurance: A+

Agility: A

Magical Energy: A

Luck: B

Noble Phantasm: ?

Noble Phantasm: ?


End file.
